Yes or No?
by de cineribus renascitur
Summary: While watching First Class, I got to thinking "why are they all saying yes?" So that's sort of where this came from... Enjoy!


**Hey! I'm back! And I even changed my penpame... Never thought I'd do that...**

**I can't say for sure how long I'll be back, but I've been feeling better...**

**Anyway, enough talking for now... No Copyright Infringement is Intended**

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"A far cry from our usual standards. Isn't it, Charles?" Erik commented as he parked their rental car by the curb.

What he was referring to was a house that was set a ways back from the street. It was a large, two-story house that was rather impressive looking. It had a certain charm to it that suggested it was very old despite how well maintained it was.

"Hmm?" Charles turned his gaze back to Erik. "Ah, yes... The house is nice, isn't it?"

"Charles... Are you alright?" Erik watched his friend and noticed the telepath seemed distracted by something. Whatever that was - Erik couldn't tell.

Charles blinked, "What? Oh... yes I'm fine." He reached for the door handle. "Let's get on, shall we?"

With a further worried glance at Charles, Erik exited the car and followed him up the driveway.

The closer they got to the house, the more impressive it became. The orange glow of the setting sun set the house alight. Erik could tell that it was actually panelled in a dark, hard looking wood. A tall door and large windows gave it the appearance of a small mansion.

It was definitely unique in this neighbourhood.

"And you're sure there's a Mutant here?" Erik asked for what felt like the thousandth time since that morning.

"Is it really so hard for you to believe me?" Charles countered, his voice sounding tired.

"No, but..." Erik really didn't really know what he could say. That he expected all Mutants to be hiding or living in bad situations? No, he couldn't say that aloud. Not yet.

"Trust me, my friend. When have I ever led you wrong?" Charles chuckled lightly. "The Mutant living here is most intriguing. I've been excited to meet her since I first found her with Cerebro."

Her? So, it was another woman. Was Charles trying to even out their team? That seemed unlikely to Erik, but not entirely impossible.

Charles reached out a hand to take the brass knocker when they arrived at the door. He struck it three times against the door - each time with a resounding 'crack'. Then he stepped back to stand beside Erik and wait.

It took nearly a minute of waiting, but eventually the door opened to reveal a woman of about their age.

She was tall for a woman, but still shorter than Erik. Her skin was fair and there was a light spray of freckles across her cheeks. Her long auburn hair tumbled down her back in a sea of waves. Her eyes watched them with blatant curiosity - like she wasn't sure what to think of them.

"Yes? Can I help you?" She finally asked, her voice had a slight Scottish accent.

"I'm Charles Xavier and this is my associate, Erik Lensherr." said Charles, taking the lead. "I was wondering if we might speak with you."

Erik watched the woman expectantly. He had met enough Mutants by now that he wasn't surprised when her expression changed from curiosity to something a little darker. Most of the people they spoke to were wary of him and Charles.

"If this is some religious thing," she said. "I'm happy with the God I have. Thank you."

Erik could almost feel the amusement radiating from Charles as they processed what she said.

"Oh no, it's nothing like that." Charles explained. He placed the fingers of his left hand to the side of his temple - a sign he was using his power.

The woman's eyes widened as the seconds went by and her face seemed to pale slightly, but she let them into her house nonetheless.

Once through the door, Erik saw that the house was just as impressive inside as it was outside. He followed Charles as they were lead down a hallway and into a sitting room. His eyes were constantly moving - taking in everything around them - a habit he had picked up from living on his own.

The floors were made of a similar dark wood as the outside panelling and were well preserved. Light reflected off the beige walls, illuminating the large room they had entered. Comfortable and expensive looking furniture was placed around the room in an appealing way.

It was almost like she expected company.

"Please, sit." She sat down on an armchair and gestured to the sofa in front of her.

Erik sat down to the woman's left and Charles to her right. No one spoke for a minute - just observing each other. The air around them seemed tense with anticipation.

"So, you're a telepath," she said accusingly to Charles. "But what about you?" Her gaze shifted to Erik.

With a wry smile on his face, Erik reached out with his power for something metal in the room. He settled for the tea tray on the table between them. There was really no effort and soon the tray was floating a foot in the air.

"I control metal." he said. He made the tray spin in a circle for good measure, then let it settle back on the table.

"And what do you want with me?" She continued. "I suppose you would like to see my... abilities?"

"That will not be necessary." said Charles, ignoring the confused look Erik sent him. "But a name would be nice."

She smiled, "Sarah Hawthorn."

_'What are we doing here, Charles?'_ Erik sent the thought to the telepath. _'I thought we were gathering allies.'_

_'We are.'_ came Charles' reply. _'But she is not one to push.'_

_'Not one to push?'_ Erik echoed in disbelief.

Charles had asked - no dragged Erik along on this journey to Canada. He had been so adamant about finding this Mutant that he had hardly sat still during their flight. And now that they were finally speaking with her, Charles was content to do nothing.

It was all Erik could do not to scream in frustration.

"Forgive me if I'm not as trusting or knowing as my companion here," his voice somehow remaining calm. "But what can you do?"

Sarah didn't answer his question right away. Instead she started smoothing out the small wrinkles in her grey skirt. Then she pulled her purple cardigan a little tighter over the white shirt she wore underneath.

"I'm a healer." Her eyes locked directly onto Erik's - they were an eerie mix of green and blue - like sea water.

A healer? Well, that could prove useful. Especially with what they were getting themselves into. This wasn't going to be easy and Erik knew it.

"That truly is a remarkable power," Charles piped up. "I didn't think it was even possible." His eyes brightened. "Just think of the possibilities."

Always the scientist, Charles was more interested in that vast varieties of the Mutant powers than recruiting this woman. Was this why he had wanted to come in the first place? So consumed by his wonder that he made no move to offer her a place among them.

Well, if Charles wouldn't - Erik would.

"What exactly do you mean by that?" He asked, still remarkably calm. He had a feeling Charles was responsible for that, but he didn't act on his suspicion.

"It means that I have the power to heal any injury." Sarah maintained her level gaze. "Physical or psychological. And not just my own injuries. I can heal the injuries of other people as well."

"How powerful?"

"Incredibly, but I'm not sure of my exact limits." She smiled. "But I'll ask you this... How old do I look to you?"

Erik blinked in surprise. He wasn't prepared for that question. He saw out of the corner of his eye that Charles wasn't prepared either.

"Thirty?" Erik guessed.

"That's very flattering but," She paused. "I'm 72 years old."

"But that would mean you were born in 1890!" Charles spluttered, any fascination gone from his eyes.

"February 9th, 1890 to be exact." She explained. "From the time it came, my healing power has significantly slowed down my aging."

Erik struggled to get his head around what she had said. She really didn't look like she could be that old. She looked like she might be a year or two older than him and Charles.

"And you say you can actually heal people other than yourself?" He asked after a few seconds had passed.

"Yes, as long as I'm touching them. I can heal them."

"Fascinating." Charles commented. "Now I have something to offer you." He paused. "How would you like to join us in Virginia?"

She considered them for a minute. Her eyes flashed between their faces as she thought of her response. No emotions were visible on her face.

"No, thank you." She said after she had finally come up with an answer.

Erik tried not to let his shock and anger show on his face, but he failed. How could someone with such power simply say no? Didn't she know what was going on in the world?

He looked at Charles and found that the telepath was also amazed by her answer.

"No?" Erik repeated, silently hoping he had heard wrong.

"No."

"How can you say that?!" Erik spat - he was seething with anger.

"Erik, please be calm," Charles laid his hand on Erik's arm, but Erik refused to listen.

"Because I'm old." Sarah explained. "I've experienced my fair share of so-called 'scientists' simply using my abilities for their own purposes. They abused me for years in ways I wish I couldn't remember. And I've long since decided to keep out of view." She looked away. "That's why I have to say no."

"We understand." said Charles, taking control of the situation. "We'll be going now."

He got up to leave and tightened his grip on the German's arm.

Every ounce of Erik's control went into not throwing Charles off him or destroying all the metal items in the house. He followed the telepath back down the hallway to the front door. They passed through into the early twilight outside.

Now that they were outside, Erik wrenched his arm from Charles' hand.

"Ah, that went well." Charles commented.

"Well? You call that well?" Erik was shaking with fury. "That's not the word I would have chosen. 'Disaster' has a better ring to it."

"Calm, my friend." Charles gestured to the street posts that were quaking under the might of the metal bender's power. "I told you she was not one to push."

Erik sighed, "You knew she wasn't going to come, didn't you?"

"Yes, I did."

"Then why did we speak to her?"

"I thought, perhaps, she would change her mind. And prove my assumption wrong."

"But you're hardly wrong." Erik felt a smile stretch out on his face.

"That is true." Charles shivered. "It's getting cold. Let's get going."

Erik nodded and led the way back to their rental car. They both got in and Erik started the engine. He steered it down the street in the direction of their hotel.

"Who knows," he mused aloud. "Maybe she will change her mind."

"One can only hope." supplied Charles.

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**The idea for this came to me over a month ago while I was watching X-Men: First Class... And then I really got started after I watched Days of Future Past**

**I'm not sure is this is actually the end or if there might be more in the future... But this is out of my system, so now I can focus on other things... I should mention that "healing factors/powers" have always fascinated me regardless of where they came from... So maybe that's what drove me to write this...**

**Until next time... :P**


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